Disconnect

even the echo of the click
dies down
you wait for a split second
agonizingly
hoping for a revival
hang on
incredulously

the sudden dead silence
kills the hope
irrecoverably
total disconnect
there are no carcasses
left behind,
to rot and stink
so what?
is only flesh sanctified

and when hope dies
a part of you dies too
but who'll mourn
over such banal deaths?
there is always
a bigger melodrama
in the cathode-ray-tube

we're all obsessed
with blood, sweat and lust
we bury our hopes silently
without fanfare
as if it's indiscreet
to even shed a tear
there is no voyeur value in it
no vicarious pain, either

yes, that's an oxymoron
all real pain is private
first hand
deep down we know
and yet we expect empathy
and act surprised
when instead we get
a total disconnect

Kyun Uljhaa Hai Dil Aaj

kyun uljhaa hai dil aaj girah ki tarah
wisaal pe bhi woh roya maatam ki tarah

furqat hai aasaan, tha pata phir bhi
kyun hum uljhe hain, maftoon ki tarah?

dekhte hai jab bhi quaatil ki taraf
kyun yaad aayen woh maashuk ki tarah

rah-e-guzar pe milte hai aadil asuph
jo baatatein hai insaaf inaam ki tarah

Not Quite A Ghazal

kuch dil chaahata hai, aap ki ijaazat hoti
dum todate hue, ek pashemaani to kam hoti

[pashemaani:: Guilt, Remorse; ijaazat::permission, sanction]

yuhin hum na roye, teri yaad har ghadi thi
na ye kaash labz kaheta, gar tuhi saath hoti

[labz:: word; gar:: if]

shaadamaan hum bhi hote, tuzko bhula bhi dete
kabhi haan na kahena tha, woh na hi kahe deti

[shaadamaan:: content, happy]

insaaf bhi ye kaisa, ki tadapna hi zindagi hai
ek din to hai hi marna, muze roz kya padi thi

tuhi bata de asuph, ki kuch tuze khabar hai
aas ek hi thi agar to, fir umr itni kyun thi

[aas:: longing, desire; umr:: life-span, age]

Empty Spaces

Without you
Emptiness
Within me

You say you're mine
But your space
Is just yours

One of these days
The empty spaces
Will crunch

I will crunch
With mine,
You with yours

From outside
The euphoria
Shields emptiness

Inside out
It's just
A prison wall

Can't we
Just Merge
Our Empty spaces?

The Kiss

The first kiss
Is also the last
As the bystanders watch

The blessed one
Smiles a mysterious smile
Seemingly untouched
By the cruel time

There is vicarious fear
In all those
Who haven't been blessed yet

For the bystanders
Tomorrow will be
Just like yesterday
The voyeur,
It lasts for a moment
Stretched here and there

Nothing will last
No, not even
The memory of the kiss
Final as it is
It will fade
Memory, after all,
Is just temporal

And yet
The now matters today
Like there is no tomorrow
And it seems so hard
To forget
That mysterious smile

---

After posting the poem I realized that this might be too abstract. The kiss is the final kiss -- kiss of death.

The Final Epiphany

At the point of singularity
Where perceptions play games
And the words desert you
Unabashedly, at the worst moment
Doubt becomes insignificant
By its ubiquity

You still want to trust
The remains of the scattered logic
To help you build
The edifice back again
In all it's shining glory

How can you trust even memories
When the now seems questionable?
It's always better
To close all the shutters
And wait for the spell to end

But does it?
And how does one know
If it ever does end?
Miracles might be happening
But when senses give in
How do you know
They are real?